Target announces literacy initiatives

September 27, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS - Target announced its plans to donate more than $500 million by the end of 2015 to support education, doubling its support to-date, for a total of more than $1 billion. The financial commitment is part of Target's new reading initiative, Target Read With Me, aimed at helping more U.S. children read proficiently by the end of third grade, the company reported.

"Target's ties to education run deep, but we are compelled to do more to address the education crisis in the United States and put more kids on the path to graduation so they are ready for college, a career and life. The time to act is now, and it starts by reading with a child," said Laysha Ward, president of community relations, Target. "Our reading pledge is the first of many steps Target will take to ensure our kids are globally competitive. We need every parent and caring adult to join us in creating a movement that will chart a new course in education and help our children succeed."

Target said it will encourage parents, caring adults and its more than 350,000 team members to take action by visiting Target.com/reading, where they can pledge to commit to a regular reading schedule with a child. The pledge also can be accessed via mobile Web browsing or by texting "READ" to TARGET (827438).

In addition, Target said it will donate 1 million books to mark the beginning of its Target Read With Me initiative and up to an additional 1 million books once 1 million reading pledges have been received.

Target also announced plans to launch a reading center of excellence that will have a physical and virtual presence. The physical center will be located in Target's headquarters market of Minneapolis-St. Paul, where nearly half of third-grade students do not read at a proficient level, according to the company. The center will serve to support and share innovative solutions and best practices in reading, Target reported. The virtual aspect of Target's reading center will ensure kids, parents and caring adults have access to interactive tools and reading resources, regardless of their location.

INSIGHTS

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in May 2015 vs. May 2014 and noted...

SPECIAL REPORTS

Retailer Today’s Best Retailers to Work With special report is now available. We surveyed more than 330 supplier company representatives for this first-of-its-kind research project, and the results are fascinating. Suppliers shared their views about major industry issues and perceptions of the business practices of top trading partners in the areas of leadership, strategy, collaboration and execution.